As of 07:20 (UTC+7), 8 November 2026
Tech news for November 8, 2026: NASA announced Moon Base awards, including a contract for Blue Origin to deliver a nuclear-powered rover named PROMISE. Elvis Presley Enterprises and Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style filed separate lawsuits against AI music company Suno. SpaceX launched the classified USSF-432 mission from Vandenberg. Pokemon studio OLM described an AI coloring tool at a Taipei festival, and NASA opened applications for its next astronaut class.
NASA awards Moon Base contracts, including Blue Origin delivery of the PROMISE rover
What happened
NASA announced on Saturday a suite of awards and mission updates for its Moon Base, and shared the news at the MAX POWER aerospace expo at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA said the investments will advance commercial robotic deliveries, a nuclear-powered rover named PROMISE, launch and orbital transfer services, and surface infrastructure for a sustained presence on the Moon’s South Pole. “We are building the Moon Base mission by mission,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “When our astronauts return to the Moon, they will arrive with the first elements of the Moon Base already waiting for them on the surface.”
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $94 million base contract, plus a $140 million performance option, to deliver PROMISE to the lunar South Pole on Blue Origin’s Mark 1 lander. It is targeting a late 2028 launch and an 18-month rover mission. NASA also awarded six VADR task orders, worth about $1.3 billion combined, to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space to move Moon Base cargo, and selected SpaceX to launch communications satellites to cislunar space on a Starship in 2028.
Why it matters
Cargo flights, power and communications will decide when people can actually live and work on the Moon. Saturday’s awards name who NASA is paying to haul hardware, deliver a South Pole rover and keep future crews connected.
Source: NASA RELEASE 26-095, 7 Nov
Elvis Presley Enterprises and Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style sue AI music company Suno
What happened
Billboard reported that Elvis Presley Enterprises, a unit of Authentic Brands Group, filed a lawsuit against Suno on Friday, 6 November 2026, alleging that the AI music company violated Elvis Presley’s likeness rights. Attorney Richard Busch, who filed the case, wrote: “All of the humanity, history, despair, and triumph that constitutes Elvis’ identity was stolen and is stored on servers and harnessed by Suno to make massive amounts of money.” Those are allegations, not court findings. Variety reported a 51-page filing in the Northern District of California by a group that includes Authentic Brands Group and Raleigh Music Publishing, accusing Suno of copyright infringement and of violating Tennessee’s 2024 ELVIS Act.
Variety also reported that Eight Mile Style, which controls hundreds of Eminem recordings including “Lose Yourself,” “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady,” filed its own case alleging copyright infringement, and that Eminem is not individually participating. On Saturday, Authentic Brands Group spokeswoman Lark-Marie Antón told Billboard: “We protect those rights vigorously.” A Suno spokeswoman told Billboard: “Suno exists to help people create new, original music, not to trade on anyone’s name or likeness, and we prohibit any unauthorized use of an artist’s work.”
Why it matters
AI music tools are now being tested in court over both copyrighted recordings and a famous voice. The outcome will matter to anyone who uses those tools to make songs that sound like a well-known artist.
Source: Billboard, 7 Nov; Variety, 7 Nov
SpaceX launches classified USSF-432 mission from Vandenberg
What happened
Space.com reported that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on 6 November 2026 at 7:48 p.m. EST (4:48 p.m. local California time; 00:48 GMT on 7 November), beginning the USSF-432 mission for the U.S. Space Force. Space.com described the flight as a classified mission for the U.S. military and said little was disclosed about the payload: “Neither SpaceX nor the Space Force told us much about USSF-432 beforehand.”
Space.com said SpaceX cut its webcast about 10 minutes into the flight, shortly after the Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You,” stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean. That landing, Space.com reported, wrapped up the eighth flight for booster 1095.
Why it matters
Classified rides on a reused Falcon 9 are now routine, but each one still shows how much national-security traffic depends on commercial launchers. Travellers will not see this payload, yet the same rockets and West Coast pad also fly the civilian satellites that carry broadband and Earth-observation services.
Source: Space.com, 7 Nov
Pokemon studio OLM describes an AI coloring tool trained on three painted frames
What happened
Variety reported on 7 November 2026 that OLM Digital board director Yotsukura Tatsuo said at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei that OLM, the Japanese animation group behind the Pokemon anime series and films, has developed an AI coloring tool that picks up a show’s look from just three hand-painted frames. Variety said the tool came out of ANIMINS, a 15-month research project Yotsukura led under GENIAC, a generative AI program overseen by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and that the project wrapped in February.
According to Variety’s account of his remarks, an artist colors three frames by hand, and the system learns that show’s line shapes and color palette on the spot in about 90 seconds, then colors each remaining frame in around 15 seconds. Yotsukura said, “Strictly speaking, it isn’t generative AI.” At proof-of-concept stage, he estimated it has cut painting workload by around 30%.
Why it matters
Coloring is one of the slow, repetitive steps in TV animation. A studio describing a tool that learns only from a production’s own frames is a different pitch from AI trained on other people’s work — and it is still a demonstration described at a festival, not a claim that every Pokemon episode is now painted this way.
Source: Variety, 7 Nov
NASA opens applications for its next astronaut class, with a 3 December deadline
What happened
NASA said applications are now open for the agency’s next class of astronauts, who would join as the United States returns to the Moon, builds the Moon Base, and lays groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. U.S. citizens have until 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday, 3 December, to submit completed application materials.
“This is an extraordinary time to join NASA’s astronaut corps,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “The people we select could walk on the Moon, live and work at the Moon Base, and help pioneer the systems and operations that will ultimately carry crews to Mars.” NASA expects to make its final selection in late 2027. The agency last opened applications in 2024; from more than 8,000 applications, 10 astronaut candidates were selected in 2025. NASA said it has selected 370 people to train as astronaut candidates since the 1960s and currently has 32 astronauts active in the corps.
Why it matters
A new application window is how NASA restocks the small group of people who may someday work at the lunar outpost described in Saturday’s contract awards. The deadline is soon, and the selection NASA is pointing to is still more than a year away.
Source: NASA RELEASE 26-093, 7 Nov
Frequently asked questions
What did NASA announce for the Moon Base on Saturday?
In RELEASE 26-095, NASA announced awards and mission updates covering commercial robotic deliveries, a nuclear-powered rover named PROMISE, launch and orbital transfer services, and surface infrastructure. It awarded Blue Origin a $94 million base contract, with a $140 million performance option, to deliver PROMISE, and said six VADR task orders awarded to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space are worth about $1.3 billion combined.
Who sued Suno, and what do they allege?
Billboard reported that Elvis Presley Enterprises, a unit of Authentic Brands Group, sued Suno on 6 November 2026 over alleged use of Elvis Presley’s identity and voice. Variety reported a related 51-page filing in the Northern District of California citing Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, and a separate copyright case by Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style. Suno told Billboard it exists to help people create new, original music and prohibits unauthorized use of an artist’s work. The claims are allegations, not court findings.
What is known about SpaceX’s USSF-432 launch?
Space.com reported that a Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:48 p.m. EST on 6 November 2026 (00:48 GMT on 7 November) on a classified U.S. Space Force mission. SpaceX cut the webcast about 10 minutes in after the first-stage landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You,” the booster’s eighth flight (designated 1095). The payload was not described.
Until when can people apply to become a NASA astronaut?
NASA said U.S. citizens have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, 3 December, to apply, and that it expects to make a final selection in late 2027.
Sources checked on 8 November 2026 (UTC+7). Each story links to its official source or names the outlet that reported it.
TravelyData summarises public announcements and reports for general information. Details can change. Check the linked sources before you act.
